Feeling Twenty-Two
by Kelly Anne Weasley
Summary: Come watch Rose Weasley navigate her early twenties, aided and abetted by roommate/cousin/best friend Albus Potter, obnoxious yet endearing little brother Hugo, and Albus' insufferable yet somewhat attractive friend Scorpius Malfoy.
1. Picture to Burn

Chapter One: Picture to Burn

"So watch me strike a match  
On all my wasted time  
As far as I'm concerned you're  
Just another picture to burn!"  
-Taylor Swift, _Picture to Burn_

Rose Weasley woke up to the sound of pounding on her bedroom door. She mumbled some choice swear words under her breath, and rolled over, pulling the pillow over her head in a feeble attempt to drown out the noise.

"Rosie, I know you're in there!" echoed her brother Hugo's insistent voice, "I heard about you and Tom!"

"Go away, Hugh!" Rose shouted with a huff. She was in absolutely no mood to deal with her little brother this early in the morning, especially after having been out so late the night before.

"Are you decent?" he asked. She cautiously opened her eyes and squinted blearily at her pajamas. Yes, she was decent. Answering him would only be encouragement though. Three blissfully silent seconds passed, and then the same obnoxious voice pierced the silence.

"I'm coming in!" he bellowed, in unnecessarily loud tones. Damn, he knew her too well. She pondered the blissful possibilities of her parents having decided that having an only child was best. If only she had been so lucky. She heard the door knob jiggle, and then his whispered unlocking charm before the little brat clomped his way over to her bed, plopping himself down as if he owned the place.

"Bugger off, Dumbass," she muttered. Hugo flipped her the bird cheerfully, and settled back against the wall, plopping his legs onto hers and grabbing a pillow for support. He really was an obnoxious little twerp. She sighed heavily and sat up, mimicking his slouched posture. Now that he was here she definitely wasn't getting any more sleep.

"How did you even get into the apartment?" she muttered. No answer. Of course not. She rolled over onto her side, facing him and glaring. He was far too cheerful this morning, wearing a bright red shirt that clashed horribly with his hair.

"What time is it?" she asked, yawning loudly and hoping he would take the hint. No such luck.

"10 o'clock. You know, way past the normal time for functioning adults to be sleeping, even if it _is_ a weekend." Rose snorted at this.

"Define functioning," she replied. Hugo laughed at that, and tossed her the brown paper bag that she hadn't noticed he was holding. Inside were two pumpkin pasties and a couple of iced coffees from The Three Broomsticks. Perhaps Hugo wasn't such an obnoxious little twerp after all.

"Cheers!" she said, pulling out her half of the loot and tossing the rest back to her favorite little brother. This almost made up for the rude awakening this morning. Almost. She settled back onto her pillows and munched happily on her breakfast.

"So," Hugo began, spewing out pasty crumbs as he talked, "What happened last night?" Rose groaned. She should have known the pasties would come with certain provisions. She also knew that Hugo wouldn't leave until he heard the whole story. Rose had inherited the Weasley temper, but Hugo had all of the stubbornness. It was a terrible combination, really. Why had her parents decided reproducing twice was a good idea, again?

"Well," she began thoughtfully, abandoning her pasty in defeat, "I guess you could say that I chucked him?" Hugo laughed.

"From what I hear, it was less 'chucked' and more 'complete disaster.' At least those were Al's words when he owled me in the wee hours of the morning. Mum almost had a heart attack when she heard the owl pecking at the window." Hugo laughed even harder at that, and Rose had to force back a smile.

"Oh, come on, it's not funny, Hugh! The idiot had it coming. We've been on the rocks for a while now, but last night was the last straw." She looked over at Hugo, and he was sipping his drink and staring at her with a 'go on' sort of expression. She sighed. "Fine. My temper _may_ have gotten the best of me, but you should have heard what he said to me in front of all my friends."

"What did he say?" Hugo asked curiously, still with food in his mouth, "Al didn't give me any details, he just told me to get over here as soon as possible."

"Well we all met up for drinks at the Leaky Caldron. Some of us there hadn't seen each other in months, so we were all catching up, telling stories and reminiscing." Rose paused here, and flushed a bit to remember. "Tom was two years ahead of us all at Hogwarts, so I was trying to explain a few memories to him and fill him in on the details." She trailed off, biting her lip. She knew Hugo – and others – often complained about her bossiness, an inherited trait from her mother.

"And then?" Hugo pressed. She was relieved that his curiosity outweighed his tendency to criticize her.

"And then he told me – loudly, so all my friends heard! – he told me that he didn't need me to explain everything to him like he was a little child. He said that he was smart enough to train in the Auror program at the Ministry, which meant he could understand a hell of a lot more than someone working at a shop!" she finished in an angry rush. Rose swore under her breath and Hugo nodded in satisfaction.

"So you flipped out on him?" he asked, "Good for you. It sounds like he deserved it." She sighed.

"I may have gotten a little carried away," she admitted, "But I did at least ask him to step outside with me before I let him have it. Albus only caught the tail end of the breakup speech, because he came outside to check on me. I don't think anyone else heard."

"Did you tell Al the rest of what happened?" Hugo asked this last question as he brushed crumbs off his chest onto Rose's blankets.

"Oi! Keep your mess off my bed, you little bugger!" Rose huffed, reaching over to shove her brother off the bed. He laughed, holding up his arms in defense and leaping onto the floor.

"Sorry, sorry!" he yelled, laughing like an idiot. He most definitely was not sorry, but as Rose knew quite a few jinxes, she was sure that he was only apologizing out of fear. Being the older sibling did have certain perks. She laughed with him, glad to know that her authority still held, even at the ages of twenty and twenty-two.

"I told Albus the whole thing last night after we apparated home," she explained, "Though I suppose I better let him know that I'm alright, once he wakes up. He was pretty concerned before we went to bed. Though in all fairness, I did spend a good half hour setting fire to all my pictures of Tom with my wand." She laughed sheepishly. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

"He's up already," Hugo said, "Who do you think let me into the apartment?" With a laugh, he sauntered out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Take your trash with you, you little berk!" Rose shouted after him as he went. Of course, he ignored her. She heard him yell down the hall to Albus, something fairly unflattering about Rose. She muttered to herself, and pushed herself out of bed to get ready for the day.

Twenty minutes later, after a nice shower, Rose ambled down the hall to the kitchen, pulling a Harpies sweatshirt over her head as she went. Albus and Hugo were poring over the Quidditch section of the Prophet, arguing stats and making season predictions. She rolled her eyes. The pair of them were nothing if not predictable. Albus looked up as she approached.

"About time the little heartbreaker woke up!" he exclaimed, trying and failing to suppress a laugh. He gestured to the pile of burnt photos Rose had destroyed the night before.

"Shove off, Al," Rose grumbled, hoisting herself onto the counter and glaring at her cousin, "You're supposed to support your best friend in her time of need, not rag on her at every opportunity."

"Whoops! Sorry, I always confuse those two things. We can't all have your brains, Rosie." Hugo chuckled and high fived his older cousin. Rose glared at the pair of them again, before pulling her wand out of the pocket of her hoodie and vanishing the ruined pictures. She caught a glimpse of Tom's grin evaporating right before the small stack disappeared.

"Well, it seems like you're remarkably cheerful for someone who just broke up with her boyfriend of a year," Hugo said sarcastically, "It doesn't really seem like I'm needed here. I better get home before Mum starts asking too many questions. "

"Ah, the joys of still living at home," Albus replied cheerfully, "Give Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron our best. Oh, and ask Uncle Ron and Uncle George if they'll send over some more of those testers from the store. Scorpius and I had a blast pranking the other interns at St. Mungo's."

"Will do!" Hugo said, clapping his cousin on the back, "Bye, Rosie! Let me know if you need any moral support, or more pumpkin pasties." She smiled and hugged him. He and Albus really did mean well, even if they were obnoxious about it. She watched Hugo walk out the front door, and listened for the telltale '_crack_' sound that meant he had apparated safely.

"And then there were two," she said, turning back toward her cousin. Albus smiled at her.

"You really are OK, aren't you?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah, I am," she said thoughtfully. "Like I told Hugh: we had been on the rocks for a while, and it was only a matter of time before it ended. Tom and I were together for a year, but more out of convenience than anything else."

"So, up for Sunday errands, then?" Albus asked.

"Sunday errands," she agreed. And so, the newly single Rose Weasley and her cousin/roommate/best friend Albus Potter embarked on their weekly Sunday adventure: grocery shopping.


	2. A Place in This World

Author's Note: Thank you for all the follows/favorites/reviews! This is the first multi-chapter story I've written and published online in a long time, and your support is definitely encouraging. I suppose last time I should have pointed out that I do not own Harry Potter OR the Taylor Swift lyrics in this story. Please enjoy! Any constructive criticism is more than welcome.

Chapter 2: A Place in This World

"I don't know what I want, so don't ask me  
Cause I'm still trying to figure it out  
Don't know what's down this road, I'm just walking  
Trying to see through the rain coming down"  
-Taylor Swift, _A Place in This World_

It had been a marginally better week than the whole Tom breakup fiasco of the weekend. Rose figured that she should probably be a lot more upset about her newfound single status, but she honestly couldn't muster up the effort to care. She had no time or energy to deal with anyone who didn't truly appreciate her, especially someone supposed to play a romantic role in her life.

Albus had spent most of the week hovering over her like she was a helpless child. Rose had found this quite amusing, and saw no reason to prevent him from doing so. If her cousin believed she was about to suffer some sort of breakdown, why ruin this impression? Especially when Al's false notions led to him handling some of the more unpleasant household tasks and making her dinner three nights in a row. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Now that she truly was over Tom, though, Rose found that she had too much time to think and worry about other areas of her life. The twenties were supposed to be a defining decade in a person's life, and Rose felt like she was missing out on many of those defining choices and life moments.

It was Friday morning and Rose was holed up in the back office of the Diagon Alley branch of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Her Outstanding NEWT mark in Arithmancy had come in handy, as she was in charge of keeping the books, tracking supplies and inventory, organizing invoices, paying the bills, and handling payroll. She also occasionally waited on customers and covered front-of-the-house shifts for coworkers either on vacation or lunch breaks.

Rose was not as ambitious as some of her other cousins, and was quite content to work at the family business. Her father and her Uncle George shared the ownership and management roles of both branches: Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade (formally Zonko's!). Her cousin Fred was primed to eventually take over, and oversaw most of the daily operations and inventions. Other employees included a handful of part-time shop clerks and one very grumpy overnight janitor.

Other than Rose and Fred, none of the other Weasley cousins had taken an interest in the future of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Of course, they all enjoyed the free presents and testers occasionally supplied to them by their Uncles Ron and George. But none of them were as ambitious and innovative as Fred. None of them shared the passion for numbers and order which Rose possessed. She felt important and needed in her position as accountant. For her, that was enough. She had no use for grandeur in her professional life, or indeed in _any_ area of her life.

Granted, it was tough watching others around her knowing exactly what they wanted. Albus had always known his strengths, and decided on the career path of Healer almost instantly. James had a flair for the dramatic, and it showed. He was now a famous Quidditch player. She often saw his likeness grinning back at her from the front page of _Witch Weekly_. Victoire was happily married to Teddy Lupin, their almost cousin and prominent Auror, and balanced life as a mom with her career as a reporter. Molly was well-known at the Ministry. Lily was training to be an Auror. Hell, even Hugo had an interesting job, if perhaps a bit strange. He shared his grandfather's fondness for Muggles, and worked in Muggle relations at the Ministry.

It was tough not to feel like she was floundering when Rose saw all of her cousins so sure in their futures. She enjoyed her job, yes. She certainly felt qualified, and knew that work was crucial to the running of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. But she had never really chosen that path. Her job had been a last minute choice when she was fresh out of Hogwarts, and her Uncle George offered her the post while she took some time to discern her future.

Five years later, she was still working there. Despite her job satisfaction, Rose often wondered if she was destined for grand things like the rest of her cousins. It was easy to feel unimportant in such a large, famous family. It was easy to compare herself to her various cousins, friends, and old schoolmates. There was Rose Weasley, perfect student and all-around genius, taking advantage of nepotism while she attempted to get her life together. It wasn't exactly ideal for the self-esteem.

A knock on the office door interrupted her musings, and Rose started as she realized she had been neglecting the account books and over-analyzing her life for a good fifteen minutes. She straightened the papers on her desk and called out, "Come in!" She plastered a smile onto her face and hoped that she didn't look like she had been worrying.

The door opened to admit her cousin Fred. "Hey, Rosie," he said with a grin, "I was just about to head out for lunch. Are you almost done back here, or will you be awhile?"

"I think I'll probably just eat here today," she replied, smiling sadly, "I must confess that I've been daydreaming more than I should. I have quite a ways to go before I'm done here."

"How 'bout I grab you a sandwich or something while I'm out?" Fred asked her. "There's no way I'm letting you stay late on a Friday."

"Deal!" she agreed. "Make it a tuna on rye, would you, Freddy?" She reached into her desk drawer for her wallet, and handed over a few Sickles.

"That should be more than enough. Don't work too hard, OK, Rosie?" She smiled at his retreating form, and then sighed heavily as he closed the door. Pretending to be a sane, productive member of society was frankly a bit exhausting. Knowing that she still had a steady stream of work to complete before the weekend, Rose turned back to the store's books, determined to finish by closing time.

Later that night, Rose walked out of the shop with her cousin Fred, waiting while he pulled his wand out of his pocket and muttered the necessary locking and security charms. "All set here, Rosie. Have a good night."

"Yeah, you too," Rose replied. "I'll see you on Sunday for lunch at the Burrow." She watched as Fred apparated home, and began trudging toward the Leaky Caldron. She was supposed to meet Albus and some of his mates from the Healer intern program. It had been a gloomy day full of gloomy thoughts, and all she wanted to do was curl up on her couch with a nice cup of hot tea.

She hesitated before the door of the pub. Whenever she ditched on their plans in the past, Albus had been known to tell her parents that she was moping around like a love-struck teenager, leading to unwanted and obnoxious parental questions. Devious little bugger. On the other hand, her mother tended to ask unwanted and obnoxious questions regardless. Should she risk it?

After hesitating for a millisecond longer Rose opened the door, resigned to her fate. She would just stay for one round. She spotted Al and his buddies crammed into a table in the corner.

"Hey, Al," she called, as she made her way over to the group. He grinned back in greeting.

"Hey, everyone, you remember my cousin Rose, right?"

"Nope," answered their cousin Lucy Weasley, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Never seen her before," added Scorpius Malfoy, trying and failing to hide the wide grin on his face. Everyone laughed as Rose dragged over a chair, and wedged herself between Scorpius and a bloke whose name she couldn't remember. Conversation resumed, and Albus passed down a pumpkin ale. Ah, he knew her well. Perhaps she could just sit here quietly and listen to all their Healer banter before disappearing unnoticed.

"Bad day?" Scorpius asked, turning away from the general conversation and addressing her. So much for disappearing unnoticed.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, curiously.

"Oh, come on, Rose," he replied with his trademark grin, "We've been friends for a long time now. I can tell when you're upset."

"Sure, if you want to call both of us hanging around Al all the time friendship…" she trailed off, grinning back at him and sipping her ale. He made a face at her. "Oh, fine, fine! We're friends. Of course we are. I'm just messing with you."

"More like avoiding the question," he said calmly. Now it was her turn to make a face. "Is it about Tom? Because Al told me what he said and he's a fucking idiot."

"Agreed," she said with a laugh, "No, I'm not really upset about that anymore. He's not worth it. I'm better off without him." Scorpius smiled, and patted her on the back.

"Good for you."

"No, it's not him. But, I don't really want to talk about it right now, alright?"

"Alright." He took a long sip of his drink and then turned back to her. "So, do you want to hear about my day instead? Cause I got to tell you, it's pretty intense. I don't want to give anything away, but it may or may not involve exploding pus-filled boils, a love potion,_ and_ an extreme case of the giggles."

"An extreme case of the giggles?" Rose asked incredulously, "How does that even happen?"

"Prepare to be shocked and amazed!" So Rose nursed another pumpkin ale and listened to Scorpius detail his day at St. Mungo's. She suddenly felt a lot lighter. Maybe at the end of the day all she really needed was a good friend to help her chase the gloom away. It was a start, anyway.


End file.
